When Hilltop wrestling coach Thomas Juarez opened his room for offseason workouts in October, he had some newcomers come in he wasn’t sure what to do with.

His surprise turned out to be a pair of CIF champions and some of the hardest workers on the team.

Lancer juniors Kayla Ochoa and Alysia Baker each captured titles at the recent San Diego Section Girls Wrestling Championships at Steele Canyon High School. They lead a cast of seven South Bay girls qualifying for this weekend’s Girls State Championship at Lemoore.

“Throughout the year, these girls have been a great example with their commitment and responsibility,” said Juarez. “Their work ethic is beyond common dedication.”

Not having girls in the Hilltop room for years made things a challenge for everyone.

“I was nervous at the beginning,” admitted Ochoa, who captured the section 100-pound title, even though she had never wrestled before this season. “I wasn’t sure how the guys would be to have girls around for the first time in like 10 years at the school. I was afraid of being rejected.”

Consulting with his fellow coaches, Juarez decided assistant coach Victor Zuniga would focus his attention on the four girls in the room.

Under Zuniga’s guidance, the girls improved quickly, largely a credit to how coachable they are.

“They do it in practice, and they do it in matches. I just tell them to do things and they do it to the best of their ability,” Zuniga said.

Ochoa, described as a “silent warrior” by Zuniga, came to wrestling from girls tennis, where she earned Rookie of the Year honors. She enjoyed tennis, but wrestling is now her favorite.

She captured her CIF title with a quick pin of Kearny’s Kaira Garcia using her signature move, the Fireman’s Carry into a Head-and-Arm finish.

“The coach made us write down our goals at the start of the season, and mine was to place second at CIF and go to state,” said Ochoa. “Taking first I guess I exceeded that.”

While Ochoa is a newcomer, Baker isn’t. Last year she wrestled at Castro Valley. She moved south because of her father’s transfer as a Navy Seabee.

“Every three years, you pick up and move on,” said Baker, who was born in Virginia. “Dad gets out in two years, so I should be able to finish up high school here.”

She began wrestling at the San Francisco Bay Area school for a unique reason — academics.

“My mom convinced me to join wrestling because they had the highest GPA of any girls team in the section,” explained Baker. “If you needed help, they made sure you got help.”

Baker qualified for the state meet last year at 237 pounds, making the second day of competition. This year she dropped weight and added technique, including the Duck Under she used to win the 191-pound CIF title with a pin of Mar Vista’s Vanessa White.

“Alysia has such a great personality,” said Zuniga. “She really pushes to win. She listens to her coaches to a T; details stick to her.”

Their work isn’t done. Now they get to see what they can do against the state’s best.

“We’re going up there expecting hard competition and for them to wrestle their hearts out,” said Zuniga. “No matter what happens, I can’t walk out of there mad. They’ve had a great season.”